Sand and Water
by A Rozen Dream
Summary: I wasn't always different, a long time ago I looked like any other normal girl but now I was hunted, my appearance altered. Everyone feared me, hated me even if they didn't know why. Everyone but him. He was different to, feared as well, we were the same but yet as different and fire and ice. GaaraxOC Because we needed more stories like this P lol
1. Chapter 1

"Why don't you go play" mum said looked down at me

"But I want to stay with you"

"Don't you want to make friends?"

I shook my head with a slight frown.

"Oh is that so, but if you don't have friends who will you play with?"

"Myself"

"Isn't it more fun with others?"

"... Maybe"

"How about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"If you can't find someone to play with then I won't ask you to talk to them anymore ok?"

"Promise?"

"Pinkie swear" she smiled holding out her pinkie

"Ok" I agreed connecting my pinkie to hers

I left the house with a sigh and walked down the street to the park where I could already hear kids playing. I cautiously walked out towards the other children as they all seemed to stop playing turning their eyes on me.

"He-hello..."

"What are you doing here?"

"...I wanted to play'

"Well go somewhere else then"

"Yeah you're not allowed to play here"

"FINE! I didn't want to play with you anyway" I shouted running off

I ran until I was far away from the sand village going to the one place that made me feel peaceful, it was a small hill where you could see the whole town but behind that hill was a flat area with a single tree, not a very big tree but it was still a tree.

"Are you lonely to all the way out here?" I asked sitting next to it

"How did you know I was here?" a young boys voice replied

I stood up and looked around but couldn't see anyone there.

"I didn't know anyone was here..." I confessed "where are you?"

The sound of sand moving caught my attention; I noticed a small mound of sand slowly falling to the ground with a boy standing in the middle. He looked around my age with red hair, his eyes where green with a black circle around them but that isn't what got my attention. It was the look he had in his eyes; it was sad, lonely even.

"Are you all alone to?" I asked

He nodded but didn't say anything.

"... Well... I-if you want... I could stay with you?"

He looked surprised; I guess no one wanted to be friends with him either although I couldn't see why.

"You want to stay with me?"

"Uhuh... unless you don't want me to"

"No! Yo-you can stay"

"My name is Makeda, what is yours?"

"Gaara"

I sat back down beside the small tree with Gaara cautiously sitting on the other side, we didn't say anything to each other but I noticed him looking at me, it was always like this.

"I know my hair isn't normal" I sighed trying to cover the blue strands with my hands "it wasn't always like this... my hair used to be black but it isn't anymore"

"Why?"

"...mum says I'm not allowed to tell people"

"Oh... I haven't seen you here before"

"Mum and I came from across the sea not long ago, our home tried to kill us so we fled to the sand village... no one would expect to find water people in the sand"

"They tried to kill you?"

"Their afraid of me" I sighed hugging my knees

"That's ok, people are afraid of me to"

"Why?" I asked looking up at him

"... If I tell you will you tell me?"

"But... mum said..."

"I won't tell anyone! I promise" he said looking at me

I know the reason all too well why I wasn't allowed to tell others and why we moved to the desert but there was something in his eyes that told me it was ok.

"O-ok, but you have to promise never to tell anyone ok"

"Ok" he nodded

"You go first" I told him

"I have a demon inside me, everyone is afraid of me because sometimes I hurt people even when I don't mean it... it's all because of the demon, it wants me to hurt people..."

"You have a demon inside of you?"

"Are you afraid of me to?" he asked looking like he was about to cry

"Can you do anything?"

"I can control the sand; it does it on its own when I'm in danger"

"Wow, that's so cool!" I squealed

"Re-really? You're not frightened?"

"No... because... I have a demon to..."

"You do?" he asked shocked

"I wasn't a healthy child... I was always sick and the doctors said I wouldn't live past my 4th birthday. Mum begged the water spirit to save me, that's when it entered my body making my hair turn blue, since then I haven't been sick but things other than my hair changed to. I can control water and because of that people became afraid of me and now they are after us trying to kill me, that's why mum and I moved here, no one would expect the vessel of a water demon to be in the desert"

"I'm happy you have the water demon" Gaara said quietly

"Huh?"

"If you didn't... you would have died and I wouldn't have met you"

"Well then I'm happy you have a demon in you, if you didn't you would just tease me like the others do" I smiled at him "and then I wouldn't have a friend"

"Fri-friend?"

"Aren't we friends?"

"I've never had a friend before" he admitted

"Oh, it's easy, there's only one rule"

"Rule?"

"Uhuh, friends always have to help each other so if I'm ever in danger you have to come helped me and I'll do the same if you're ever in danger ok?"

"Ok" he smiled

"Pinkie promise?" I asked holding out my pinkie

He stared down at my outstretched hand then looked up at me a little confused.

"You're meant to hold out you're pinkie to then we shake and that means if you break the promise your eyes will fall out" I explained to him

"I don't want my eyes to fall out!"

"Then don't break the promise" I smiled

"O-ok"

Our pinkies met above the small tree marking the day a sand demon and a water demon became friends.

_Since that day a lot has happened, my mum was killed during Gaara's rampage as the sand demon, I never blamed him but he did, he shut me out, he shut everyone out. After losing my mum and my only friend I packed up what I could carry and left that desolated village, I ended up in a village near water, nearly everywhere you looked there was a rive or a lake of some kind. there I found a nice old couple that took me in, he was a farmer and she had her own bakery which I often help out in. everything is peaceful there and as I grew I learnt to use the vast amount of power inside me, unlike Gaara my demon was one of compassion and love, it never tried to lash out at others in a harmful way._

_Even though I helped out in her shop I still never really made friends, even though they didn't understand it they all knew something wasn't quite right with me so people didn't really talk to me much but that was ok, I wasn't lonely, I still had people around me and even if I didn't, as long as I was at peace there was the spirit inside me always looking out for me. I hadn't seen or heard about Gaara since I left but even so my thoughts often drifted to him, I prayed for him at nights hoping that he found some happiness in this world but a part of me knew that wasn't true._

_Every year I would tell myself I would go back to that village and find him, take him with me to this place of peace but every year I would put it off. The last time I saw him he wasn't the Gaara I knew, he had carved the kanji 'love' into his forehead and he had a cold distant look in his eyes, no one could get close to him, not even his siblings. His father sent assassins after him whom he killed without remorse; he didn't even seem to feel guilty about it. The Gaara I once knew had been replaced by the demon, at least that's how I saw it, so here I was 14 years old looking out my window staring up at the stars thinking about my red haired friend, praying that he would one day return._


	2. Chapter 2

Like every morning I woke up at 5am, changed into a white robe and my black apron then headed down stairs to get ready to open the store. Kaede was already down there and Hoshino had already left, it seemed no matter how early I woke up they were always up first. After saying good morning to each other I went about setting out the bread then by 6am like every other morning the store was open. I stood behind the desk waiting for the normal early customers to come in, after the lunch time rush died down I found myself staring out of the window sighing every now and then.

"Is everything ok?" Kaede asked me

"Oh I'm fine" I said facing her with a forced smile

"It's about that time again isn't it?"

"Hmm, what time?'

"When we found you wandering around"

"Oh really... didn't realise"

"You were talking in your sleep last night"

"I was?"

"You kept saying 'Gaara' over and over and you were crying"

"Well that's embarrassing" I chuckled looking away from her

"I try not to pry but who is this Gaara? It's not the first time you have mentioned it"

"It's not? I don't believe I have ever mentioned a Gaara"

"Many times in your sleep you have called it out while you were having a nightmare"

"It doesn't matter anyway" I sighed leaning on the counter "Gaara was just some boy I met in my old village... I guess he was important after all he was my first friend and the only one who seemed to understand me but then some things happened and well here I am"

"So it's a boy is it, could it be you love him?"

"How can I love someone who believes everyone hates him?"

You mothers grave is there isn't it?"

"Her body was lost but I made a shrine for her yeah, why?"

"Isn't it about time you visited it? After all these years I'm sure it needs attending to"

"It's not like it's down the road" I pointed out

"We packed you some food, water, change of clothes, something to sleep in and we got you a horse" she smiled holding out my bag

I looked down at the bag and then looked down at the floor with a sad laugh; I guess I was foolish to think they would want me here forever.

"I understand..." I muttered "I'm sorry to have been a burden to you"

"Oh no it's nothing like that!" she quickly told me "we have been thinking about this for years but I never wanted to let you go, it was Hoshino that convinced me to let you go. He said you were a young lady now and it wasn't right to keep you here when you're heart wished to be somewhere else, you're always welcome here Makeda, you're like a daughter to me"

My hands had a mind of their own as I took the bag from her; she walked me outside to where a horse was waiting for me. It didn't take me too long to get there on horse, I was there by the next evening but I didn't go into the village. Instead I headed to the hill that over looked it and down towards where I thought I would find a ruined shrine and a dead tree but was surprised to see the tree was now a bit taller than I was and a more permanent shrine had been created plus there was freshly cut flowers there.

_"Someone did this... but who?"_

I couldn't think of anyone that would actually do this but it didn't matter really, I tied the horse to the tree hoping it wouldn't pull the thing down then knelt at the shrine placing my hand on her name.

"Mum... I'm sorry I haven't come sooner... a lot has happened since I left this place... I found a new place to live, with this kind old man and women. Hoshino is a little gruff and yells a lot but he cares in his own way besides Kaede makes up for it by being overly sweet, I'm happy there..."

I didn't notice until my voice started to crack that I was crying, I turned away from the shrine and held my hands over my eyes.

"Please don't blame Gaara, he didn't mean to, I know he didn't mean to, he... he wouldn't hurt me, he wouldn't"

I hadn't let myself cry over my mother's death, leaving so fast afterwards I let myself believe that she was still here alive but somewhere inside I knew she wasn't. All those years of pain and sorrow I had kept to myself I let flow as the tears fell through the cracks in my fingers falling to the cooling sand below me. Once I was no longer sobbing I wiped my eyes looking up at the sky taking a few deep breaths before standing. I walked over to the tree placing my hand on it smiling fondly.

"Are you lonely still?" I asked with a slight sigh

I heard sand falling and turned around with fear filling me, it was too dark now to make out their features but they had their arms folded with some kind of gourd on their back but most of all they didn't seem to happy.

"How did you know I was here?" a gruff voice spoke to me

"I didn't know anyone was here..." I confessed "tell me, why are you out here all alone?"

"What would you do if I said I was waiting for you?"

"well it depends on your reason I suppose, if you were waiting to take my life I'm afraid even out here in the desert that wouldn't be an easy task but if you are waiting for another reason then I guess... well I guess there isn't much I could do other than leave"

I closed my eyes with a sigh, I had no idea what happened but I felt the water from my own small gourd shield me from something.

"I told you it wouldn't be so easy didn't I?"

"Hmm"

"So is that all you wanted?... Gaara?"

"How did you know it was me?"

"I don't know anyone else that can control sand or anyone else that would be out here" I pointed out looking up at him "besides it's the same right, as when we first met?"

"You still remember?"

"Of course, so why were you here? I don't believe that you could be waiting for me, unless you wait for me every year that is"

He didn't say anything and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt, all these years I have been praying for him but now that I'm finally here all I'm met with is a stone cold wall.

"You know what it doesn't matter" I mumbled going over to my horse "I never should have come back"

I jumped on my horse and in seconds I was out of his sight, I had no idea where I was riding to and by the time the sun came up I couldn't even find anything that looked remotely familiar and to make matters worse there wasn't any water anywhere! So I couldn't even let the stream find my home.

"Great, I'm lost" I muttered sitting on the grass

I had used the last of my water before the sun rose thinking it would be easy to get more but I was completely wrong and having a water demon and no water, well it wasn't a good combination. Out of nowhere there was a loud bang frightening the horse as it ran away, I jumped up but already the effects of dehydration were kicking it.

"Dammit" I muttered sitting back down

Even under the shade of the trees the sun still managed to reach me and after being in a desert for so long it was starting to look like I had only one choice. The water I carried in my gourd was special water, in fact it was barely water at all, not something you could drink anyway but I would only last until night like this, if I didn't find water by then I would have to risk poisoning my body to quench the demon.

"Right then, water, can't be too hard right?" I said to myself standing up "that sound... I think it came from this way"

I heard a few other bangs as I walked towards the sound, the forest was bigger than I thought and it echoed quiet a lot to, well after lunch the banging had stopped but I still continued to walk until my legs gave from under me.

"Is it time then?" I asked closing my eyes

Before I could even grab my gourd I heard people talking and they sounded close to. I don't really have much memory of what happened next, after I felt the people giving me water I allowed myself to rest, to gather my strength but when I woke up I was in some kind of room, a hospital by the looks of the other beds around me.

"Where am I? I groaned sitting up

"You're in the Konoha hospital"

I wasn't expecting a reply, talking to myself was a habit I had gotten a few years back, I looked to my left to see who was talking to me only to find a girl with pink hair sitting there smiling at me.

"It's good to see you're awake"

"Who are you?"

"My names is Sakura, I was part of the team that found you"

"So that was a dream then" I sighed "that's good"

"A dream?" she asked me

"Oh well... wait where's my things?"

"Everything is all here" she said holding up my backpack

"My gourd?"

"That should be here to"

She handed me my bag and I started to go through it until I found it, I opened it up letting out a relived sigh, none was missing.

"We thought there might have been water in there but nothing came out"

"there's a protective seal over it, this water isn't something you would want to drink, it is infused with a special chakra, if you drink it you get a huge amount of chakra poured into you're system... not even my body could handle much, a few drops at most"

Not exactly true but it was the closest thing to the truth, when I first started to learn how to use the demons powers I nearly drowned myself. I didn't understand how the power worked not to mention I was nowhere near ready to attempt using it, I ended up creating some kind of tidal wave and living in the desert swimming wasn't something I learnt. I passed out but when I woke up I had been pulled to shore with some kind of water being next to me, once I was awake they vanished and the water lay as a pool on the ground. There was something strange about this water, it was easier for me to control and it didn't even act like water so I kept it. Since then I have learnt on that day the demon managed to reach out from me and use the water as a makeshift body for a short time, even though the demon vanished from the water there was still massive amounts of chakra stored in it.

"That would explain why you didn't drink it" she laughed awkwardly "so what's your name?"

"Makeda"

"Where are you from?"

"Land of rivers"

"Did you get lost? You were in the land of fire when we found you, only a few hours from where you are now"

"I was in the land of wind but I got turned around coming home... do you know how I can get back?"

"You should rest for a while..."

"I'm fine now; I really should get home..."

"At least let us take you there"

"I don't have any money... I wouldn't be able to give you anything in return"

"It doesn't matter; I just don't want you to get lost again"

"Thankyou"

We left a few moments later but after only getting a few hours away from the village it started to rain and we were forced to take cover to wait it out.

"I wonder how long this rain will last" Sakura sighed

"Not long, it's just a quick shower"

"How do you know?"

"Oh well... just a guess really"

I could feel the rain in the clouds, there wasn't much in there but still, if only it came hours ago before I passed out.

"So why were you in the land of wind?"

"I was visiting my mother"

"You don't live with her?"

"she died many years ago... after her death I had no reason to stay there so I left, a kind old man and lady took me in and now the land of rivers is my home"

"I'm sorry"

"It's ok; it was a long time ago"

"Looks like you were right" she smiled as the rain stopped

"We should get going"

"Oh ahh right..."

Things were silent for a while but it was obvious Sakura had many questions for me but I wasn't about to start that conversation up, I would rather the awkward silence over that.

"So how old are you?"

"14"

"Same age as me" she smiled "so umm... did you run away from home?"

"No nothing like that, they let me leave; in fact they were the ones that convinced me to leave... I just want to get home and get back to how things were"

"Convinced you to leave?"

_"Dammit"_ I cursed in my head

"Uhhh yeah... with them being busy and with me being young I never visited my mother, Suna is far away after all but they decided I was old enough to make the trip... anyway sine they went through the trouble I decided I should visit mother"

"Suna? You mean you used to live there?"

_"Why can't I learn to shut up!"_

"Uhh yea... you know the place?"

"I haven't been there but..."

"You know about the demon that attacked the village?"

"You could say that"

"My mother died during the demons rampage"

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, in her last moments she was happy, I couldn't ask for anything more"

"Is that why you left?"

"Mother and I were new to the village, we had no one there, I lost any reason I might have had to stay"

"What about friends?"

_"I never knew people could be so... nosey, everyone I know stays away from me but this girl... she is different... I wonder why..."_

"My only friend was lost during the rampage as well"

"Only?"

"The children of Suna didn't like me, I was the new kid and different from them. There was one boy... he was different to and we became friends... it was only for a short time though"

"So you only had one friend?"

"Yes but I didn't care, I am happy without friends"

"Well... what about now?"

"The people of the village stay away from me; they fear me without knowing why. It has always been that way; people take one look at me and can tell there is something not right with me which raises a question, why do you not see it?"

"Trust me after putting up with Naruto nothing bothers me" she frowned

"Naruto?"

"An annoying idiot from the village" she waved off "but why would people be afraid of you? You don't look like a bad person"

"I'm different" I shrugged

As night started to fall I heard a stream in the distance, Sakura told me that the stream led to the land of rivers and once there I could find my way home so I had no need for Sakura anymore.

"I can find my way from here, you should return before it gets to dark"

"But I said I would take you home..."

"my home isn't far from here and just as you don't want me to be alone I wouldn't want you to be alone, this is around halfway so it won't take me long to get there, I know this area well"

"... a ninja nev..."

"Out of embarrassment I didn't really want to say anything..." I said cutting her off "I'm a ninja to"

"You are?"

"Yeah... I know you want to help but I don't want to return home being escorted... I shouldn't have even gotten lost!"

"Well... ok, if you ever come to Konoha come find me ok?" she said jumping off

"Sure" I called out with a wave

Once she was out of sight I let out a sigh, I really wasn't comfortable around people and she was way too nice, it was weird. I didn't go into the village; I didn't feel like being around anyone so I stayed on the outskirts where not many people went. The next morning I woke up feeling stiff all over, I guess that's what happens when you sleep on the floor. With a sigh I decided to face everything now and stop putting it off. They weren't mad or anything like I thought but they seemed happy when I said I wouldn't be going anywhere again in a hurry.

Things settled back down until the events of that time were nothing more than a faded memory. In the mornings I helped set up the store then after rush hour I trained then in the afternoon I would help clean up then cook and do it all again the next day. It was repetitive, boring almost but after that little adventure I decided I couldn't handle being a ninja or a traveller, no I was better off right here.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the middle of winter; I got woken up not by the howling storm outside but by the sound of someone banging on my door. Hoshino barged in not long after telling me we had to go, the one problem living here was when winter hit the chance of a flood was well over 90% and that meant evacuating to higher ground.

Since winter started I already had my bag packed waiting for this. The flooding wasn't too much of a problem, most of the houses around here were on top of shops and only twice since I've been here has it raised that high. Normally it's just around ankles, sometimes knee, more inconvenient then dangerous.

I quickly changed into baggy pants and a long sleeve tight shirt then lastly pulled on socks and covered shoes. Pulling my bag over my shoulders I headed down to find a thin layer of water already on the ground, ignoring the water I helped Kaede pack everything we had then we started the walk to the higher hills.

Everyone around us was doing the same thing, some people carried bags full of fresh water, other food, neighbours helped the small children and everyone worked together. By the time we reached the village edge the water had raised to my waist and there was a slight current pushing us around.

"Mummy!" a child screamed out

Everyone turned to look back, she looked small, maybe only 6 and she was desperately trying to swim against the current, on top of that she was heading towards the rivers. Everyone looked around; no one really knew what to do. Some wanted to go after her but by the time they reached her they too would be caught in the rivers current and not many could swim against that.

"Umm excuse me sir... would you mind holding these for me?"

"Sure thing kid"

I handed him the two bags full of supplies from the bakery then pulled my own, much smaller one, of my back. After digging around for a little bit I finally found my gourd, strapping that onto my waist I zipped my bag closed and handed it to the man as well.

"Thankyou" I said before walking towards the rivers

"Hey wait! Kid what do you think you're doing!"

I heard Kaede, Hoshino and others call out to me but by this point I was already swimming, I swam towards her as fast as I could but we were well in the river by the time I got hold of her.

"Hold on" I told her guiding her to my back "whatever you do don't let go ok?"

"Ok" she said wrapping her arms and legs around me tightly

I was just going to waist energy trying to swim against the current but that just left the waterfall, if I did that though we could never make it up the cliff edges to the others. Looking around I tried to find something, anything to help that's when I saw what the villagers were doing. I couldn't really see who it was from here but someone was swimming towards us and by the look of the others he was probably tied to a rope or something.

Swimming against a current wasn't all that hard for me but normally I didn't have a kid on my back and normally I could swim under the water avoiding most of the waves. It was hard work and very tiring but with the help of my chakra infused water I made it to the river's edge. With my chakra water creating a wall behind me I didn't have to worry too much about the current but it wasn't going to last forever.

"Here" I said handing them the kid

Once she was safely on his back he reached out his hand for me but I don't think they could pull all three of us, besides I would be fine.

"It won't hold" I called out "I'll meet you on the hill"

Before he could grab hold of me or yell anything out I slipped under the water and back towards the middle of the lake. With my chakra water I created a kind of bubble mask around my mouth and nose giving me more air then started swimming towards the waterfall, getting up the mountain would be easier with just me. There were two ways for me to get down the waterfall, get a good enough jump in so I was far enough away from it or stick to the edge and almost climb down. Climbing down the cliff would use a lot of strength and chakra; I was running low on both so I went with the first idea.

With the last of my chakra I created a whirlpool that would hopefully send my flying away from the waterfall. I imagine looking from the outside it would have been like watching a dead body be flung through the air. As I was rapidly reaching the lake below a surge of power pulsed through me, I was hoping to avoid this to, my skin changed to a pale blue and gills appeared on my neck. My feet turned into flippers and my fingers were now webbed, the only thing that stayed the same was my hair, even my eyes were darker than normal.

The water was bought up to meet me lowering me gently into the water where I sunk to the bottom of the lake. Like this I felt everything, every leaf that hit the surface, every fish that swam around even in waters far from the lake. I laid there for a while until my mind drifted to the rising waters back home, after floating back up to the surface I stood on top of the water and walked towards the waterfall. A platform of water rose from the lake taking me back to the top. The water here would eventually run down the waterfall but right now the current was to strong sending the water everywhere but here.

"Water style: water wall jutsu!" I called out

The water started to gather in one place then rise from the lake, I pulled it towards me then over my head and into the lake below. After doing this a few times the water slowly started to lower and the currents were less threatening. With that down I dived of my platform into the lake where I stayed until morning.

The next morning I woke still on the bottom of the lake with a fright, once I reached the surface I stumbled onto land trying to get my body to change back. It was hard work changing my body back, sometimes it felt like this was who I really was, not even human really but after sometime I managed to change back to my normal, human, form. With that done all I had to do now was make my way up the cliff which was a lot bigger then I remembered it.

"Well I guess I'm going around" I sighed

I followed the lake downstream walking away from the village, waterfall and everything really hoping to spot a less deadly way up. My guess it was around lunch but with the clouds covering the sun it was hard to tell, deciding to take a short brake I sat down on a soft patch of grass and watched the small ripples in the water.

I started to yawn so I lay down on my back closing my eyes listening to the sounds around me drifting off to sleep. I was woken up by what sounded like barking then something touched me, felt like a stick or something like that.

"What are you doing!" I shouted waking right up

"What the hell, you're alive?"

"Yes I'm alive idiot" I frowned looking up at him

At his feet was a small white dog with brown patches so that explained the bark I heard but when I laid eyes on him my anger faded away. He looked annoyed, that much was certain even though I had no idea why but as I laid eyes on the headband around his messy hair I recognized it.

"Konoha right?" I asked standing up "what are you doing here? More importantly why were you poking me with a stick"

"You're village asked us for help with the flooding, once we got there though they went on about some girl getting carried away"

"Yeah ok that doesn't explain why you were poking me" I frowned

"We all thought you would be dead by now"

"Wow, that's a lovely thought, well whatever let's just get going, I'm assuming you're coming with?" I asked walking past him

"Where are you going?"

"Around the mountain, there's a kind of trail somewhere so we can get back up"

"Why don't we just climb up?"

"Easy for you, me id break my neck"

"What kind of ninja are you anyway?"

"Whoever said I was a ninja?"

"Sakura did"

"Sh-she's here?"

"Helping out up top"

With complaints from both of us I ended up on his back while he carried me up the cliff, I didn't waste time in getting down once we reach the top though.

"Well thanks for the lift... what is your name anyway?"

"Kiba, and that's Akamaru"

"Makeda, thanks for your help" I said walking away

After getting yelled at by Kaede and Hiroshi I managed to convince them to let me go back into town with a couple of others to help clean up. There wasn't much damage but there were logs and other things that washed down from the other town, plus the water was still just above our ankles. A few times during the day I heard the water was meant to be higher and there should have been more damage but everyone just passed it off as luck, in a way I guess it was. We all pitched in and helped out but once it started getting dark everyone, including the ninja headed back to the camps.

"There's something I don't get" Kiba said walking by my side "you saved a kid so people should be treating you like a hero or something right?"

"If id died I would have been" I smiled stopping

"What?"

"Oh nothing, umm I'll catch up, there's something I need to get from home"

"Whatever"

I made my way inside and went up to my room searching through my cupboard full of maps. Eventually I found the one I was looking for, it was a layout of the other side of the hill showing the small more than likely run down trail. Shoving it into my pocket I caught up to the others, once we reached the hill I quickly headed off to our tent where Kaede was making the beds.

I waited until everyone was sleeping before sneaking out of the tent, I couldn't see anyone when I first looked around so I continued on trying to find the path. Once I was safely down the hill I took a few moments to sit on the grass and catch my breath. Around here there wasn't any water for another 5 minutes which is why I came here, using water, controlling it from lakes and rivers was easy what I needed to practice was pulling water out form other places.

Winter and night was the best time to do this, the ground was always a little damp and the grass always had small drops of water on them. I don't know how long I was there for, it was getting colder though that much was certain and I had only managed to move around maybe a small cup of water all up. As I was about ready to head back I caught the reflection of someone standing behind me in one of the water bubbles, I couldn't tell who it was but still who would honestly come down here.

"Why are you here?" I asked letting the water fall to the ground

"You've been living here? This whole time"

I was surprised, more than that to find Gaara standing behind me, I stood up but didn't face him, I feared if I did that would be it for my composure.

"You're a long way from home, why are you here?"

"I am an ally of the hidden leaf"

"You're actually helping? And around water to" I said facing him "Gaara I'm sure by this age you realise sand and water just don't mix"

I went to walk past him and head back to the tent but he grabbed hold of my arm.

"Let go of me, now"

"No" he said coldly

"So what you think after 9 years things can be how they were?!"

"You still blame me" he said letting go of my arm

"I never blamed you Gaara" I sighed

"You feel sorry for me then"

"I was hurt!" I shouted

"You were injured?"

"You just don't get it do. My mother died, I had no one! Only... only you but you turned you're back on me, on yourself. I don't blame you, I don't pity you, I'm not even angry with you I just... I know what it's like, to have something inside you; I've done things to, things I wish I could forget. I wanted to help but I just didn't exist to you, the world didn't exist to you anymore... so just leave me alone"

This time when I walked away he didn't reach for me, everything that I said was true, it was things I had wanted to tell him but yet I felt more alone than ever now.


	4. Chapter 4

It took a few days but finally we were all moving back into our homes so that meant the ninja would be leaving soon. Since that one meeting Gaara and I haven't talked, we haven't even gone near each other. Sakura tried talking to me, find out what happened I guess but it just wasn't worth talking about, I said what I had to say, it was done now.

"Well if you're ever in the leaf village come say hi ok?" she smiled picking up her bag

"Yeah sure" I smiled

I waved goodbye until they were no longer in sight, with that done I hoped, prayed even that things would return to normal but somehow, after all this I felt normal wasn't going to come easy. After some time the village was back to normal and we started getting visitors again but I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched, maybe I was just becoming paranoid now so many strange people knew where I lived.

The feeling didn't go away and I noticed a small group of strangers that had yet to leave, they were asking the others questions to but more than that every time one glanced my way my skin crawled. I hated the feeling but it didn't look like they were leaving anytime soon so I asked permission to visit the leaf village. If I was wrong and just being paranoid then well I got a vacation but if I was right then at least we would be away from the village so no one got hurt.

It took a bit to convince them to let me go but soon enough I was on my way to Konoha. The walk was slow but that was mainly because I didn't really want to get there, I even thought about just finding some place around here to stay but the thought of sleeping on the hard ground wasn't appealing at all.

As night fell I decided to stop and continue in the morning, it took me forever to get to sleep but once I was it only lasted for a few minutes. I sat up with my senses warning me of danger, it was dark and I couldn't see anything around me but my senses were rarely wrong about this stuff.

_"I guess they are after me"_

I heard what sounded like rushing water but I knew there wasn't a stream around for ages, I turned just in time to see the large tsunami like wave come crashing down on me sending me who knows where. As the water died down I sat on the ground coughing trying to get the water out of my lungs, I may be able to breath underwater but that's when and only I'm transformed.

This time when I heard rushing water I used my own to create a bubble around me shielding me from the blow. The attacks didn't stop, one wave after another came crashing down on me but I couldn't understand why they would use water to go after a water demon, it honestly made no sense. After the 7th or so wave I started to lose my patience and hit the ground with my own jutsu making all the water around me fall to the ground with a crash.

"Why don't you come out and face me!" I shouted

Before I could react a fire ball came at me, it only managed to create a hole in my bubble which quickly healed itself but at least there fighting style made sense now. More fireballs came at me, I managed to dodge most of them but some managed to get though burning my skin. There was one thing I couldn't stand more than anything in this world and that was fire. The fireballs got closer together leaving me less room to dodge them, in the end there was a ring of fire heading straight for me.

I couldn't dodge it, my bubble burst and I couldn't get it back, the fire hit my skin making me cry out in pain as it covered me from head to toe. Suddenly the flames stopped and once more everything was dark. I fell to the ground crying out as my burnt body hit the hard floor, every part of me was screaming in pain, even the demon was badly injured and couldn't help me.

Breathing got harder and I found myself gasping for air drifting in and out of consciousness, I heard noises but I couldn't focus on it or even move to try and see. After a while everything was silent and then the sound of something crumbling as the sky slowly came into view. I couldn't see who it was standing over me but by this point it didn't really matter. My body was shaking making the pain worse but I couldn't stop it and when the person touched my skin I couldn't hold back my screams.

They quickly removed there hand from me and just knelt by me, it looked they were talking but I was once again blacking out. This time though when I opened my eyes I was standing on top of a never ending lake as if there was glass covering the surface. I had seen this place only a handful of times and searched for the water spirit, I found her lying at the bottom of the lake but she wasn't moving.

I hit the glass with my hands but it just wouldn't break, I shouted and screamed to her but still nothing. I looked around for something to break the glass with but of course there was nothing around. The glass had always been here, she explained it as a kind of protection to stop her from completely taking over my body, that if it broke or vanished then I would be trapped here while she took over my body.

As I sat on the glass staring down at her I heard something that sounded like a splash, or more a drop of water hitting it. I looked around but everything seemed the same then the noise came again and again. I looked up at the pitch black sky just as a drop of water hit my face, it was cold and felt nice on my skin but this water seemed different, almost like salt water. There was another drop but this time it landed in front of me, as it hit the glass something strange happened, it was almost like it was melting through it.

I didn't know where these drops were coming from but if they could break through the glass then I needed them. It didn't take long, or at least it didn't feel like it. Time was strange in here. And I was holding at least a small cup of water in my hands; carefully I let it drip onto one small section of glass until it burnt through it. It was only a small hole, no bigger than my pinkie but it was enough, I could pull the water out through that. Once again I had a small glass full in my hand but instead of letting it drip to the ground I bought it to my lips.

This water was the same as I kept in my gourd, the concentrated chakra alone was enough to kill me but I had to take the chance, I didn't want to die. My throat felt like it was burning then my stomach felt like someone was stabbing it over and over again, the pain was horrible and I felt like I couldn't breathe. The burns on my skin started to show as the pain returned, I was sure my body was going to give out, that it couldn't take all this pain. I lay on the glass clenching my eyes shut praying for the pain to end but it just got worse.

It felt like a lifetime before the pain stopped, once it did I couldn't even tell if I was alive or dead anymore. I sat up opening my eyes but everything was wrong, for starters it looked like I was in water and I was naked. Being naked didn't bother me too much; it was more like I was wearing a slightly slimy skin tight suit but that wasn't all. My skin was blue, which was normal when I transformed but there wasn't a single mark on me, it was like nothing happened.

I swam up to the surface cautious of people being around but the only person around made me want to just sink back to the bottom of the lake I was in. he didn't move and his eyes never left the lake, he knew I was in here and it was only a matter of time before he realised I was moving around so I had no choice.

I breached the surface and straight away he looked towards me, I tried my best to ignore him and swam towards shallow waters until I could finally stand or at least if I had feet I could have. That was another thing I hated about this, with flipper like feet I couldn't exactly walk, swim fast sure, walking no. I pulled myself out of the water and shuffled back a little so I was in the shade of a large tree; in this form being in the sun was more torture than normal.

"Can you please stop staring Gaara" I sighed after some time

I was trying to change my form back but he wouldn't stop staring at me so it was kind of hard to concentrate.

"Oh actually... where are my clothes? If I change back now... well I'm sure you get the idea" I chuckled

"They were destroyed along with your belongings"

"Ah, well that's not good" I sighed looking towards the lake "what happened? I don't really remember much, just pain"

"You were attacked"

"Ok my fault, I should have been more specific I guess" I frowned "what happened after you took care of the guys? While I was drifting in and out of consciousness"

"You were badly burnt, you screamed even while unconscious but then you stopped. I thought you died... I... afterwards you're body started to heal itself and change, different to how you look now even. You didn't say a word; you got up and walked here then dived into the water"

"I see" I sighed hugging my knees "I never want to go through that again, the pain, it was too much"

I started sobbing despite myself, they weren't trying to capture me, I don't know if they were even trying to kill me, they were only trying to harm me and they knew just where to hit me. With attacks like that they could have killed me easily but they didn't. It made me shiver to think something like that could happen again; it terrified me to think the power I would have to summon just to protect myself.

"Are you cold?"

I don't know if I could speak, it felt like there was a lump in my throat so I just shook my head.

"You should go somewhere safe until they can be bought to justice" he said

"Nowhere is safe" I choked out tightening my grip "they will never stop, always hurting those I hold dear to me, you should leave before they come after you next. If you got hurt because of me... I couldn't live with that"

"They will be stopped even if I must do it myself"

My sobs stopped and I lifted my head to look up at him, he had his back to me looking out at the lake. Things would be easier if I did blame him, if I hated him but I didn't, I hated myself more than him. I hated how I was too weak to stand by him even if he didn't want me there, that I just ran away, how I still just run away. I'm not a fighter, I never had plans on becoming a ninja or havening anything to do with battles after all I wasn't even meant to live and even if I was young I accepted that.

"Even if you could stop them more will come, anyway it's not your problem" I said trying to compose myself

He turned around and face me with cold eyes, he didn't say a word but he walked towards me, if my back wasn't already against a tree I would have tried backing away from him. When he was in arms reach of me he crouched down expression never changing and held out his pinkie finger. It took me a few seconds to figure out what he was doing but with a smile on my face I reached up my hand to him.

Before our hands met his eyes widened and his face turned a shade of red brighter than any I had seen before, once again it took me a little bit to realise what had happened but when I did I was sure my face matched his. I tried to cover my now human body but it wasn't working out to well, by this point Gaara was standing with his back facing me.

"Well... this is embarrassing" I chuckled trying to ease the mood

Gaara moved so fast, I had no idea what he was doing until his coat was dropped in my lap.

"Thanks" I blushed putting it on

It was a little big, he had more mussels and was a bit taller than me but still I wasn't naked now so I was fine.

"Gaara... I... well... umm..." I'm mumbled

I wanted to thank him, to apologize but I just wasn't too good at this stuff, shaking my head I stood up a little uneasy on my legs.

"Well anyway I guess you have ninja stuff to do so I'll get out of your way, nice seeing you and all that"

I went to walk away but the demon in me was hurt, it took my pain away, healed me but nearly killed itself. I ended up back on the floor clutching at my stomach with my eyes screwed shut.

"Makeda" he shouted already in front of me

"Th-that's the first time... that yo-you've said my name"

I managed to lift my head up and smile at him before another surge of pain hit me then it was lights out.


	5. Chapter 5

"She just needs some rest, there's a lot of damage.. It's like she's fried on the inside but if she's anything like you and Naruto... well she'll be back on her feet soon"

_"Naruto... that's the second time"_ I thought before drifting back off

I drifted in and out of a semi awake state hearing bits of conversations, someone looking me over, warmth but I couldn't really place it all together, it was like a dream.  
When I finally opened my eyes everything around me was bright, I closed my eyes once more but things were still bright. After blinking a few times the brightness slowly started to fade away and I could see around me.

I was in a bed, that much was obvious and looking around at the other beds all neatly in a row I guess hospital. I had been put near a window, explains the brightness, and there was a dull green curtain on my other side, I guess for some privacy. My body felt stiff and slightly sore, I wasn't too sure but it felt like I had been asleep for a long time, despite the aches and pains I pulled myself up so I was at least sitting. Once I was sitting up the light blanket fell around my waste and I felt a cold chill hit me.

My stomach was showing with only bandages around my chest, I was at least wearing pants, ugly pants but still pants.

"Right" I sighed wrapping my arms around my stomach "my clothes were destroyed"

It's not like showing my stomach bothered me but it was aching a little, with a sigh and slightly numb legs I pushed myself from the bed and stumbled towards the window. Looking out I knew straight away where I was, it was the same, I should have realised sooner than this but here I was, once again in the leafs hospital.

_"Gaara must have bought me here... but"_ I thought turning around _"where is he now?"_

I heard the door opening and I snapped out of my thoughts and tried to stand up properly and stop the slouching. Sakura walked around the curtain looking at the bed then at me.

"You're awake"

"Uhhh... yeah" I smiled at her

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine"

She raised her brow as if she didn't believe me, in the end I was forced to lay down on the bed again while Sakura did something over my stomach.

"Well you seem to be healing nicely but still, I don't want you over doing it ok?"

"Right..."

"You skin was healed fine but the rapid healing that kept you alive almost killed you"

"Yeah I know" I said sitting up

"There is one thing..." she sighed sitting on the bed "we couldn't heal the demon, its fine but it will take time"

"De-demon?" I panicked

"Don't worry" she smiled at me "you're not the only person I know with a demon in them and I won't say a word to anyone"

"My stomach hurts a bit" I sighed giving in "it's like I'm being stabbed"

"I'm afraid all I can do is give you something for the pain, you're body and the demons just needs time"

"Right... thank you"

"It's no problem "she smiled standing "oh I'll be back in a bit ok?"

"Right..."

Once Sakura left the room I went back to looking out the window, this place was so different then my own village, bigger to. I didn't really like the idea of being stuck here for too long, I didn't even know how long I had already been here and I didn't want to make Hoshino and Kaede worry. Sakura didn't take long to return, once she did she held out a paper bag for me. Inside was clothing, the same outfit she was wearing actually, Sakura apologised for not having anything else but I didn't mind.

The shirt still showed my stomach but only the tiniest bit, we were about the same size but I was just that bit taller than her. Once I was dressed she showed me around the place, a couple of people I recognised from helping our village but I never really talked to them. By the end of the day I was tired and the pain was getting worse, on top of that I hadn't had the chance to have any of my questions answered.

Sakura offered to let me stay with her but in the end I headed back to the hospital; I was not good at being social. The next morning I told Sakura I wasn't feeling too good so I wasn't dragged around the village again, all those people being so friendly, it was just odd.

"Sakura... when I got here... well I was wondering... I mean I thought I heard... umm... so anyway how long was I out for? I mean I don't want Kaede and Hoshino to worry"

"You were out for two days but don't worry Gaara offered to let them know you're fine"

"Ga-Gaara?"

"He was the one that bought you here, don't you remember?"

"No..."

"Well he caused a stir that's for sure, no one really had any idea what was happening, we thought we were being attacked or something but then Gaara showed up at the hospital holding you. He demanded lady Tsunade to look at you and growled at anyone else who came near you... I know he's changed a lot, trying to be more caring but honestly, it was a bit much. No one could relax until he left, no one even dared to go near you room in case they angered the Kazekage"

"He did all that fo... wait Kazekage?"

"Yeah he's the new Kazekage of the sand village"

"Why didn't... he never... I guess there's lots I don't know about him now" I sighed

"You said that you only had one friend... one that was different from the others... that was Gaara wasn't it?"

"It doesn't really matter; it's all in the past. Besides I'll probably never see him again"

"Suna isn't too far away so you could go visit him, be friends again"

"I can't" I sighed looking out the window

"Why not?"

"I'm not what you would call a sociable person, I have no skills talking to people, being nice, sharing and all that... stuff. I just don... I mean... well you know... Why do I need friends and everything anyway. I'm fine on my own"

"We have a lot of work to do" she sighed bringing her hand to her head

"Work?"

Everything after that was strange, every morning when I woke up I told myself it was just some crazy dream but then Sakura and a few others would be here, in my face. She had this idea of making me more comfortable around people, more sociable and whatnot but really I didn't see the point besides I hurt less and less each day so soon I would be out of this nutcase of a village.

"Are you listening?" Sakura asked

"I'm really not" I sighed "look thanks and you know what you've convinced me to go talk to him so I think I might go home, I've been here for over a week now and Kaede will be needing help in the shop so yeah..."

"But you can't leave!" they all shouted

"Why?" I asked cringing

"Oh well..." Ino said looking away from me

"The thing is..." Tenten laughed nervously

"So, you have been keeping me here for no reason?" I asked slightly glaring at them all

"Of course not" Sakura protested

"So instead I was a new toy? Someone to poke and prod around for fun?"

"We wanted to help" Hinata's said shyly

"Ok that's it, I'm leaving" I grumbled standing up

"Wait you can't leave yet!" Sakura shouted

"You can't stop me" I huffed walking past them

I walked out the door and down the hall, honestly there wasn't much they could do other than hold me here against my will. None of them came after me, like I said there wasn't much they could do but still I found myself unable to leave the village. I stood only a few feet from the village gate but there was one problem standing right in front of them looking at me, it was a problem I could ignore but, well I guess the girls got to me a bit.

"Are you stalking me or something?" I called out "I mean really Gaara, how many times have we 'run' into each other now?"

"Where are you going?"

"Uhhh... home?"

We continued to stand there, neither one of us moving but I did notice the two guys guarding the gate were looking between us, not only that they seemed a little worried.

_"Well at least these two seem normal"_ I thought with a small smile

"Gaara... well I was wondering..." I muttered walking closer to him "well... did you want to walk back with me? I mean you don't have to or anything, not like I can't get back on my own just thought that we could... you know... catch up... maybe?"

He didn't say anything but I guess he was just as bad at this as I was, I did however notice the small nod, then of course he turned and just started to walk away. We walked in complete awkward silence for a long time, probably not as long as it seemed until I had to take a rest.

"Sorry about this, I'm not normally this... well weak I guess. I'm still healing and all that..." I said sitting down "so there's something I've been wanting to ask you"

"And that is?" he asked looking down at me

"Well... did you get them?" I asked with a slight smirk "don't even try denying it, I mean if it were you... I would have hunted them to the ends of the earth. Besides, you had that look, when you said they would pay. But being Kazekage you probably can't say you went and hunted some guys down right?"

"They won't bother you"

I couldn't help it, maybe I was losing it from being around all the insane people but I just cracked up laughing until my sides hurt.

"I-I'm sorry" I said trying to calm down "I just.. I mean you actually did that... for me?"

"They hurt you"

"... So umm look I'm no good at this, the girls back at the leaf village tortured me for a whole week! They must have special training I swear it! They tried making me wear makeup and heals" I shivered as the words left my lips "tried to get me to talk to people, be nice to them" once again another shiver travelled up my spine "it's too horrible to speak about! So I'm just going to do this my way"

I looked up at him trying to build up my courage, he was looking a little confused which I didn't blame him but the way he looked down at me, whether he meant to or not, was not helping at all.

"I haven't once stopped thinking about you and I can't stand that! I was finally dealing with it when I stupidly went back to Suna. I still don't know why you were damned there which by the way is still bugging me but since then I haven't been able to think straight and have run into so much bad luck its ought to be a criminal offence! Thanks to you being there I ended up in that cursed insane village! And it didn't stop there either."

"First I got poked with a damn stick then I find out you're in my village helping people?! Oh and don't forget our run in either, after that my god the questions, the comments, the butting in from other insane ninja! Then finally when I thought you were gone, when this web of insanity and bad luck was finally going to set me free I was attacked! And guess who should show up. I'm not saying I don't appreciate it, I do, I mean you saved my life but why? Why were you even there!"

"Why do you keep showing up for no reason! I don't like it; it makes me uneasy, careless even! Then you take me to that damn place where I spent all my time wondering why. Sakura told me the way you were acting so if you cared, if you were worried then why weren't you there when I woke up? I get you wanted revenge and I can't say I'm not a little happy about that but then to just show up as I'm leaving. I hate the fact that you're showing up everywhere! Every time I see you my head spins, my stomach aches and my heart pounds in my chest."

"I don't want to see you ever again, I want you to go away and never come back, never show your face to me again! But not even that solves the problem, no matter what, whether you're by my side or far away I ache all over thinking about you, trying to hate you. I'm done, I just can't do this anymore so there's two choices, run and hide, I mean I'm good at that or... well I don't really have an or.. I just... how can I hate you but want you near?"

My voice was starting to break and tears welled in my eyes, I wanted to say more but I had nothing to say I just wanted to yell really, let go of everything I had locked away. By this point though I didn't care anymore, I didn't care if he said something or not, if he walked away or stayed, this was my snapping point.

"Well then" I sighed after a long pause "I'm going home"


	6. Chapter 6

I got up brushing the loose grass from me and started walking back; I didn't get too far though until a wall of sand blocked my way. Out of instincts I reached for my gourd but that had been burnt to a crisp so that left one other option, too bad it was my least perfected skill. I channelled the chakra to my feet and called up the water from the ground, once I felt a large amount under me it was just a matter of pulling it out of the ground. This was the bit I wasn't too good at.

The ground got a little destroyed... well a lot destroyed, there was kind of a hole under me but still now I had water. The first thing I did was send some to the sand behind me, once that was wet it just started crumbling away, the rest was just going to stop him from doing that again, well that was originally the plan. Water had a mind of its own in a way, affected by outer forces and so that meant when it was channelling through me if I was angry it would be more violent, if I was happy it would be more pure and right now... well Gaara was now soaked.

I don't know if I meant it or not, a part of me did but I also didn't want to attack him, well not really anyway. I quickly called my water back but the damage was done, his whole body was a dark sandy colour then it slowly started to crumble away revealing his face, which I found a little odd. Sand came out from his gourd and towards me but I just moved the water to create a shield in front of me.

As his sand hit the water it crumbled before even reaching me, I made sure to make it that little bit thicker and to keep a flow, just a little extra so he couldn't get me. After a while we were both just standing opposite each other letting my water and his sand fight it out but still I wasn't at my best and just doing this was too much. As I slowly lost control of the water it started to drip, Gaara must have noticed this to and send a wave of sand at me, bit of an over kill really.

I covered my face with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut as the sand pushed me back, when it finally started to get off me I wasn't able to move. I looked done and saw a sand rope had tied me to a tree, I tried to struggle and break free but I was just too tired now.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Do I feel better now!" I hissed "no you idiot! For one thing I'm stuck to a damn tree and you're sand is so rough and dry. So no, I'm not better now!"

"Every year" he said moving closer to me "every year I waited for you to come back"

"Eh?"

"Ever since you left I have been waiting for you to return. I didn't know if you were alive or dead so I waited for you"

"Really you expect me to bel..."

"I can't change what I did, how I shut you out, shut everyone out but I am trying working hard each day to become the person people can trust, people can rely on so I waited until you would return never knowing if that would actually happen. When you showed up, I didn't want to show myself in case you ran away but then... just as when we were children you called me out. I wanted to tell you everything that had happened the past 9 years but you wouldn't hear it."

"I am Kazekage so I couldn't go after you, I tried reaching you before you left my land but I was too slow. I was on a diplomatic mission to the leaf village when I overheard them talking about the land of rivers, I didn't know you were there, I only offered to help to better my mission but when we got there they said a girl was missing. The people didn't seem to distraught she was gone only an elder couple, after hearing you're name I went off in search of you knowing there was no way you were dead, not the vessel of a water demon."

"When I finally returned I found you had returned safely, I waited for a chance to speak with you but you spent you're time in the flooded village. When I saw you sneaking away that night I knew this would be my chance but after that I felt it was too late, you would never see me as you're friend again. I left with the others but was forced to settle something back in Suna, when I was finally on my way back to the leaf village I saw the fight. I was going to leave you but couldn't after I saw you on the ground."

"The leaf village has the legendary medical sannin so I took you there knowing that she would be able to save you, she had the knowledge to save you. I didn't tell them about the demon but she knew the second she touched you. Not only do they know about mine but they have a tailed beast in their village to. I let them escape to protect you but once you were safe I wasn't going to let their crime go unpunished. I went back to the leaf village to make sure you were ok, that's when I saw you near the gate."

"I lost you once, let you slip away from me but not again" he said turning away "if you run, ill chase you, if you hide, I'll find you"

"But why?"

"Because, that's what friends do, they look out for each other; care for each other... someone very close taught me that"

I was glad he had turned away from me, I could feel the tears sliding down my cheek and I didn't really want him to see me crying. I tried lifting my hand to wipe my eyes but that's when I remembered I was still currently tied to a tree.

"Umm... Gaara... there's one thing I need to ask you"

He turned his head a little but still not enough to actually see me, not properly anyway.

"Mind letting me down?" I asked with a small chuckle

The sand slowly started to break away until I was finally able to move my body, as I quickly wiped my eyes I watched as his sand travelled back into his gourd. I didn't know what to say, what else was there to say? I walked up behind him tapping him on the shoulder, once he turned to face me with a smile I held out my pinkie.

"Promise that we'll always be friends? No matter what?"

With a small nod his pinkie wrapped around mine.

"It's a promise, I don't want my eyes to fall out" he said with the smallest of smiles

"Honestly Gaara" I smirked holding my hands behind my back "whoever put that idea in your head"

He just frowned at me and I couldn't help but laugh

"Let's go"

"Wait a second..."

"What is it?"

"Suna... it's not that far away so I was thinking... I mean I know you're kazekage now and busy and everything but maybe I could... well visit some time?"

I couldn't go live in the sand, there just wasn't enough water and I was too used to having it everywhere plus, I liked living with Kaede and Hoshino. Gaara couldn't come live with us either, for one he was a ninja of Suna and now he was the leader, we were as different as fire and ice but somehow drawn to each other.

"You are always welcome in Suna" he said walking away

* * *

_**I just wanted to thank everyone who has read, favourited and of course reviewed (especially DefeatevilwithAwesomeness) ^-^ im kind of sad to see the end of this story but ah well, i hope you all enjoyed it.**_


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